The Truth About Being A 50-something Flat-sharer

From midnight gossips to vetting housemates, Bibi Lynch has seen it all as a mid-life renter. With a dramatic rise in the number of people in her position, she shares her hard-won advice.

- Bibi Lynch

During the past three years, I’ve moved ‘home’ 19 times. (The killer figure is actually 30 times in the last decade – but let’s not make this depressing.) I’ve lived in flat-shares and house-shares and I’ve done my fair share of house-sitting, too.

Why this nomadic lifestyle? Was I trying to live out some romantic free-spirit, sofa-surfing adventure while my 52-year-old back could still handle it? No. This non-stop moving was a result of the recession, the housing crisis and ‘life’. An unholy trinity affecting many – midlife renters are a growing tribe.

According to flat-sharing website spareroom.co.uk, over-55s are the fastest-growing group of flat-sharers in the UK. In fact, in its most recent stats, it found the over-65s are growing faster than the 55-64 demographic (although they’re only a tiny percentage of flat-sharers overall). The 55-64 bracket were up 263% over five years, while the overall trend in flat-sharers over the same period was up 133%.

Why is this happening? And who are these older renters? Matt Hutchinson, SpareRoom’s director, explains, ‘It’s partly driven by people coming out of long-term relationships, or facing other life-changing circumstances, and realising they can’t afford to rent on their own. Many of them find themselves sharing for the first time in years – or the first time ever – in their 40s and 50s. And alongside them are the people who have always rented because they simply can’t afford to get on to the property ladder.’

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